Bodies from the Library 4: Lost Tales of Mystery and Suspense from the Golden Age of Detection

Bodies from the Library #4

by Ngaio Marsh, Christianna Brand, Edmund Crispin

This annual anthology of rare stories of crime and suspense brings together tales from the Golden Age of Detective Fiction for the first time in book form, including a short novel by Christianna Brand.

Mystery stories have been around for centuries—there are whodunits, whydunits and howdunits, including locked-room puzzles, detective stories without detectives, and crimes with a limited choice of suspects.

Countless volumes of such stories have been published, but some are still impossible to stories that appeared in a newspaper, magazine or an anthology that has long been out of print; ephemeral works such as plays not aired, staged or screened for decades; and unpublished stories that were absorbed into an author’s archive when they died . . .

Here for the first time are three never-before-published mysteries by Edmund Crispin, Ngaio Marsh and Leo Bruce, and two pieces written for radio by Gladys Mitchell and H. C. Bailey—the latter featuring Reggie Fortune.

Together with a newly unearthed short story by Ethel Lina White that inspired Hitchcock’s The Lady Vanishes, and a complete short novel by Christianna Brand, this diverse mix of tales by some of the world’s most popular classic crime writers contains something for everyone.

Complete with indispensable biographies by Tony Medawar of all the featured authors, the fourth volume in the series Bodies from the Library once again brings into the daylight the forgotten, the lost and the unknown.

Genres: Mystery, Short Stories, Crime, Fiction, British Literature, Audiobook, Anthologies

413 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2021

About the author

Dame Ngaio Marsh, born Edith Ngaio Marsh, was a New Zealand crime writer and theatre director. There is some uncertainty over her birth date as her father neglected to register her birth until 1900, but she was born in the city of Christchurch, New Zealand.

Of all the "Great Ladies" of the English mystery's golden age, including Margery Allingham, Agatha Christie, and Dorothy L. Sayers, Ngaio Marsh alone survived to publish in the 1980s. Over a fifty-year span, from 1932 to 1982, Marsh wrote thirty-two classic English detective novels, which gained international acclaim. She did not always see herself as a writer, but first planned a career as a painter.

Marsh's first novel, A MAN LAY DEAD (1934), which she wrote in London in 1931-32, introduced the detective Inspector Roderick Alleyn: a combination of Sayers's Lord Peter Wimsey and a realistically depicted police official at work. Throughout the 1930s Marsh painted occasionally, wrote plays for local repertory societies in New Zealand, and published detective novels. In 1937 Marsh went to England for a period. Before going back to her home country, she spent six months travelling about Europe.

All her novels feature British CID detective Roderick Alleyn. Several novels feature Marsh's other loves, the theatre and painting. A number are set around theatrical productions (Enter a Murderer, Vintage Murder, Overture to Death, Opening Night, Death at the Dolphin, and Light Thickens), and two others are about actors off stage (Final Curtain and False Scent). Her short story "'I Can Find My Way Out" is also set around a theatrical production and is the earlier "Jupiter case" referred to in Opening Night. Alleyn marries a painter, Agatha Troy, whom he meets during an investigation (Artists in Crime), and who features in several later novels.

Series:
* Roderick Alleyn

Reviews

[Naomi · Rating 2 out of 5]

There's a reason so many of these stories were "lost" - they're not very good.

[Kate · Rating 4 out of 5]

For my full review click on the link below:
https://crossexaminingcrime.wordpress...

[Eric · Rating 4 out of 5]

The many fans of Christianna Brand will doubtless flock in droves to buy this, tempted by the novella which takes up a great part of this latest in the series edited so ably by Tony Medawar.

Since I have yet to discover or appreciate that author's attractions, I would have to say that it was not the "main event" for me.

Many of the stalwarts of detective fiction are here, in the other 16 stories and scripts,- Crispin, Bailey, Bruce, Marsh, Gilbert, Mitchell, Lorac and the Coles, - as well as a few lesser mortals.

The standout story was undoubtedly by Alec Waugh, and the only one which did not grab me at all was by Richard Keverne.

Women writers are better represented than in many such anthologies, and as ever, the editor is neatly erudite and informative in his Introduction and biographies.

A recommendable, if rather pricey, read.

[Bev · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another fine collection of little known, rarely (if ever) collection, sometimes unpublished stories by Golden Age detective novelists. Medawar has tracked down stories that appeared in newspapers, magazines, and long out-of-print anthologies. Also radio plays that were never aired or aired long ago, and a few unpublished works discovered among the author's things after death. We have whodunits, whydunits, and howdunits. Stories of murder and thievery and a closed circle mystery where it seems the detective may not get his man (or woman) because the circle has closed so effectively against the law. There is a little something for everyone who loves classic crime.

My favorites of the collection are "The Police Are Baffled," "Shadowed Sunlight," "After You, Lady," and "Signals." These have quite nice little twists to them that made them very interesting. The Lorac story is also good--but a bit short. I found "Child's Play" to be a little more brutal than Crispin's usual fare (particularly given the young victim) and "The Only Husband" by Bailey really didn't catch my fancy. I generally have enjoyed the Reggie Fortune short stories that I've read, but Reggie's conversation in this one leaves a lot to be desired. Overall, a strong outing. ★★★★

"Child's Play" by Edmund Crispin (Bruce Montgomery): A dark story about a governess who notices that three of the children in the house aren't the innocents you'd expect. And when their orphaned cousin dies, she suspects foul play instead of child's play.

"Thieves Fall In" by Anthony Gilbert (Lucy Malleson): Three people on a bus bound for London. There is a theft and a surprise in store for the thief.

"Rigor Mortis" by Leo Bruce (Rupert Croft-Cooke): Sergeant Beef teaches a Scotland Yard man a thing or two about the importance of paying attention to people instead of fiddling little details like the state of rigor mortis.

"The Only Husband" by H. C. Bailey: Lord Avalon calls up Reggie Fortune to ask for help with a "family matter." But Reggie arrives too late to prevent his death--he'll have to settle for justice.

"The Police Are Baffled" by Alec Waugh: A tale of two murders--in which the killers outwit the police using a device that another detective novelist would make even more famous.

"Shadowed Sunlight" by Christianna Brand (Mary Milne): Involves a charity ball where a valuable emerald is stolen and a boat race with a murder.

"The Case of Bella Garsington" by Gladys Mitchell: Caratet is a prosecuting attorney in this short radio play. He questions the daughter-in-law of a murdered man and uses her own words to prove her guilt.

"The Post-Chaise Murder" by Richard Keverne: Sir Christopher "Kit" Hazzard investigates what is first taken to be a simple case of highway robbery gone wrong. But there is a deeper reason for the man's death in the post-chaise.

"Boots" by Ngaio Marsh: A man confesses to stabbing his wife, but his friend produces testimony that seems to clear him. Inspector Alleyn must decide if it really does.

"Figures Don't Die" by T. S. Stribling: Dr. Poggioli figures out who is responsible for the death of an accountant--but there is no proof. Justice is served up anyway....

"Passengers" by Ethel Lina White: The short story that let to The Wheel Spins which led to Hitchcock's The Lady Vanishes. When a young woman insists that an older woman has disappeared from a train, her fellow passengers and the train authorities all treat her like she's crazy and insist the woman never existed.

"After You, Lady" by Peter Cheyney: A mob boss thinks he's come up with the perfect plan to get rid of a returning rival. After all, who would dare to interfere with him? Well....

"Too Easy" by Herbert Adams: When a man is poisoned, all evidence points to his secretary. But she insists she's innocent. Will the police arrest the right person?

"Riddle of an Umbrella" by J. Jefferson Farjeon: An umbrella leaned against a train signal leads an inquisitive young man to a hat in the middle of the tracks which leads him to a dead body.He then finds a second dead body...what exactly happened in the signalman's hut that night?

"Two White Mice Under a Riding Whip" by E. C. R. Lorac (Edith Caroline Rivett): The solution to the kidnapping of a young boy lies in the titular image given by the boy's mother to a psychologist sent to discover the cause of her inability to speak or walk. It takes Remaine, the barrister, to figure out what it means.

"Signals" by Alice Campbell: A barrister is passing an inn one night when he notices an odd thing--a woman's silk stocking dangling from the pub sign. Curious, he goes in and finds a scantily clad woman being accused of murdering another of the inn's customers. Determined to see fair play, he proves that the woman couldn't be responsible, could she?

"A Present from the Empire" by G. D. H. & M. Cole: Lady Bowland hates going to the annual dinner for the "Malaria empire-builders." Not only is it boring as anything, but she doesn't care to be reminded of Malaria. This year she finds an old acquaintance seated on her right at dinner....part of what she doesn't want to remember about Malaria. But what will be the outcome of this chance encounter?

First posted on my blog My Reader's Block.

[Christine · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fourth book in series of previously unpublished Golden Age crime stories. First story is by Edmund Crispin; I thought this was going to be a Gervase Fen; it wasn't but it is extremely chilling so collection gets off to a good start. There is one novella included which I skipped, I like my short stories to BE short stories. There a few of the stories where it is quite clear why they have been been forgotten; they probably were not worth writing in the first place. There are a couple of plays included, a format I dislike. The books ends with a selection of six stories written in response to a newspaper challenge, each based on a small illustration; these were short-short pieces and mildly interesting.

This collection passed the time but I doubt I will ever read it again.

[Lisa Kucharski · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting collection of short stories (some longer than simply short.) I sought it out after finding out that there were some never before published items from Crispen, March and Bruce. and other unseen items from Mitchell and H.C. Bailey. The others are also pulled back into print from a long time ago as well. Some of these felt as if they were written recently; others reflected a world of manners and politics of the time.

If you're looking for some of the more obtuse stories from favorite Golden/Silver Age authors this is a great series to get a hold of and read.

[Leah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Back on form…

The theme of this series of anthologies of vintage mystery stories is that they are all, or mostly, ones that have never before been collected in book form since their first appearance in magazines or occasionally as scripts for radio plays. I was a little disappointed in the last collection, and speculated that there must be a limited number of good uncollected stories still to be found. I’m delighted to say that this fourth anthology has proved me wrong – I happily eat my words! There are seventeen stories in this one, ranging from some that are only a few pages long right up to a short novel-length one from Christianna Brand, which frankly is worth the entrance price alone. There are some big names – Brand, of course, Ngaio Marsh, ECR Lorac, Edmund Crispin, et al – and, as usual, a few that were new to me. The last six stories form a little series, when well-known writers of the day were challenged by a newspaper to write a story based on a picture each of them were given. These are fun, showing how the authors used the pictures as inspiration to come up with some intriguing little stories.

Of course the quality varies, and there were several of the stories that got fairly low individual ratings from me (some of which are from the bigger names too). But they were mostly the shorter, less substantial stories, and were well outweighed by the many excellent ones. Overall, my individual ratings work out at around 4 stars as an average for the full seventeen stories, but I feel I enjoyed the collection more than a 4-star rating suggests, so 4½ stars it is (rounded up). Before I list my four favourites, I’d like to give honourable mentions to ECR Lorac, whose very short Two White Mice Under a Riding Whip is a clever cipher story; Passengers by Ethel Lina White, which is the original short story that she later expanded to become The Wheel Spins (The Lady Vanishes) – I think I actually enjoyed it even more in this short version; and The Post-Chaise Murder by Richard Keverne, a historical mystery set during the period of the Napoleonic Wars, and very well done. As you can see, I was spoiled for choice when it came to picking favourites, but here are the chosen ones!

Shadowed Sunlight by Christianna Brand – as I said, this one is the length of a short novel with all the benefits that has in terms of room for character development and a more complex plot. A group of people are on a yacht when one of them is killed by cyanide poisoning. All the people aboard may have had a motive and it’s up to DI Dickinson from Scotland Yard to find the solution, which he eventually does by having a tension-filled reconstruction of the crime. The characters are very well drawn, although not very likeable, and there is a revolting “adorable child” whom surprisingly no one shoves overboard – a sad mistake, in my opinion. Dickinson is well portrayed as a detective tackling his first solo case and fearing he might fail.

Child’s Play by Edmund Crispin – Judith is the new governess to four children, three the children of her employers and the fourth a young girl, Pamela, whom they took in when family friends died in an accident, leaving her an orphan. Pamela is unhappy, partly through grief for her parents and homesickness, and partly because the other children bully her. And then she is murdered. Gosh, this is a dark one! There is so much psychological cruelty in it – not just the children’s bullying but also the mother turning a blind eye to what’s going on, and Judith’s angry reaction. It’s very well done, and remarkably disturbing for such a short tale.

The Police are Baffled by Alec Waugh – the plot of this will sound very familiar, so a reminder that it was first published in 1931. Two men fall into conversation in a pub, chatting about how hard it is for the police to find a murderer when there’s no apparent motive or the person who will gain most has an unshakeable alibi. One suggests to the other that they should swap murders – he will kill the other man’s wife, if the other man will kill his rich uncle. It’s short, very well written, and in my opinion much more effective than Strangers on a Train (1950). Since Highsmith would only have been ten and in America when this story made its appearance in a British magazine, I assume the similarities are simply coincidental, but they’re still remarkable. Alec Waugh, incidentally, was Evelyn’s older brother.

Riddle of an Umbrella by J Jefferson Farjeon – this is one of the six stories based on a picture, in this case a picture of an umbrella leaning against a railway signal post. The narrator is walking by the railway one night when he sees first the abandoned umbrella, then a cap on the railway line. Puzzled, he walks further along the line and discovers a body, and also that the line has been sabotaged. And then he spots that the signal has turned to green – a train is on the way! The resulting story is a mixture of thriller and mystery as he tries to avert an accident and work out why the man is dead. Short but excellent, a good plot with touches of both humour and horror.

So overall, a very enjoyable collection and I’m now waiting to see if Medawar can find even more great uncollected stories for another volume!

NB This book was provided for review by the publisher, Collins Crime Club.

www.fictionfanblog.wordpress.com

[BJ Hal · Rating 4 out of 5]

An enjoyable collection of short crime stories, mainly GAD. I liked the fact that these have never been published before as there's nothing more irritating to get a new collection of crime stories only to discover that you've read half of them before!

[Patrice Doten · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found this an odd collection. Child's Play and The Police Are Baffled are straight-up horror, rather than mystery (I hate horror, so it really peeves me to be tricked into reading it). Rigor Mortis is like an overheard anecdote rather than a story. Boots by Ngaio Marsh is just meh. Ethel Lina White's Passengers is more psychological suspense, which I don't like much, and T.S. Stribling's Figures Don't Die is a mystery but has a nihilistic ending. Peter Cheyney's After You, Lady I would describe as classic noir. Herbert Adams' Too Easy is a mystery but too short to really tell its style. J. Jefferson Farjeon's Riddle of an Umbrella is a bit terrifying/horrific, and E.C.R. Lorac's Two Mice Under A Riding Whip is more flash fiction and hard to follow. A Present From the Empire by G.D.H. and Margaret Cole isn't a mystery at all but the narrative of a murder as it's taking place. Signals by Alice Campbell is an old-school mystery with a fun surprise ending. Thieves Fall In is clever and humorous. Christianna Brand's Shadowed in Sunlight is a proper classic mystery for which it was worth slogging through the others. Richard Keverne's The Post-Chaise Murder is another proper whodunit, which I enjoyed. And the audiobook narrator is fantastic!

[JayeL]

This is another one of the series of unknown or little known detective stories. I didn't enjoy this one as much as I enjoyed Bodies from the Library. This one had a couple of 'hard-boiled' American detective stories included and the phraseology and/or narration wasn't to my taste. This book also included Passenger, a story I have seen on TV. The whole aspect of making a woman seem insane is not to my taste.

Despite all that I have found some new authors to explore.

[Nicole · Rating 2 out of 5]

Disappointing…Worst Book in the Series to date

The title of my review says it all. I enjoyed very few of these stories and having just finished the book, I’m ashamed to say I cannot recall a single title.

The one story that stands out is Christiana Brand’s offering (hope I have the correct author’s name, if not my apologies in advance), only because of it’s length. It was too long and convoluted.

The stories in this anthology are, in my opinion, poorly crafted with indifferent detectives and unremarkable characters.

Maybe, I’m being overly critical being ill at the time of reading. I will re-read once I feel better.

[Rog Harrison · Rating 3 out of 5]

This contains seventeen mysteries mainly from the 1930s and 1940s most of which have not been collected before. Most of them are short (sometimes very short) stories but there are two radio plays and a short novel (maybe a novella?) too. As well as an introduction the editor provides a short biography after each piece. It's bit of a mixed bag with some well known (or at least well known to me) authors such as Peter Cheyney, Edmund Crispin, ECR Lorac and Ngaio Marsh. I found this an enjoyable read and plan to look for the other volumes in this series.

[Robert Hepple · Rating 3 out of 5]

Published in 2022, 'Bodies from the Library 4' is one of a series of crime anthologies of lost tales from the so-called 'golden age'. The quality is a bit mixed, and the mystery element sometimes a little too obvious to be called a mystery, but enjoyable all the same as good examples from the period of the golden age.

[Wendy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Collection 4 of Golden Age Mystery material

Varied quality. My favorite was the story Police are Baffled which predates Strangers on a Train by years yet has a quite similar plot of two strangers meeting in a pub and discussing murders.

[Cheryl · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 really, well nearly 4

Some good, some not so good

[Nancy · Rating 3 out of 5]

As with books of short stories, some are good and some so-so. This audio book was good for multiple drives over the course of almost 10 weeks. It was just right for that situation.

[Laura Anne · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good collection of golden age rarities. The novella Shadowed Sunlight from Christianna Brand was my favorite.

[Sue Foster · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good selection of stories includes Passengers which is the short story that was later developed into The Lady Vanishes.